Joyna's Promise

Seeing Gardenia approaching, Yuga couldn't help but give her a stern look, saying, "You didn't mention that helping would involve such a dangerous task! Is this something I can even get involved in?"

Yuga grumbled as he replenished the energy of Chimecho and Florges with some energy blocks. He was clearly discontent with the situation.

Gardenia apologized, saying, "I had no other option. You were the only one nearby who could help."

"You're practically trying to get me killed!" Yuga retorted.

Facing Yuga's accusation, Gardenia simply waved her hand, saying, "It's over now. Don't worry; I'll make it up to you."

Hearing the promise of compensation, Yuga quickly asked, "How do you plan to compensate me?"

Gardenia didn't answer Yuga's question but instead said, "Let's put compensation aside for now. First, help me heal my Arcanine and Electivire."

Reluctantly, Yuga had Florges create a Grassy Terrain and, in conjunction with Chimecho's Heal Pulses, performed a simple healing on Gardenia's Arcanine and Electivire. He also took the opportunity to heal Nurse Joy's Blissey.

After dealing with Latias's injuries, Yuga witnessed Joyna recalling her into her Poké Ball. Yuga was surprised and asked, "Is this Latias your Pokémon?"

Gardenia patted Yuga's shoulder and introduced, "You should address her properly! This is Chief Prosecutor of the Sinnoh League - Joyna!"

"Chief Prosecutor?" Yuga was dumbfounded. No wonder Nurse Joy's strength was so impressive. She not only had a Champion-level Lucario but could also command Legendary Pokémon like Latias.

But Joyna appeared quite young, yet she has already become the Chief Prosecutor of the Sinnoh League.

"Today, I really have to thank you! If it weren't for you, defeating Latias would have been much more challenging for Lucario!" Perhaps because the issue with Latias had been resolved, Joyna's stern expression had finally eased.

"No, no! Chief Prosecutor, I didn't actually help much!" Facing such an influential figure, Yuga was still somewhat nervous.

"Is it? You don't have to be so formal, and you can drop the 'Chief Prosecutor' title; it sounds awkward. I see you're not much older yourself. How about calling me 'Auntie Na'?" Joyna suggested with a smile.

Yuga's words made Joyna beam with joy and said: "Oh! You are really good at talking. I am almost forty, and you still call me young."

"You're almost... forty..." Yuga muttered in disbelief, unable to reconcile Joyna's youthful appearance with her age. She looked no older than twenty!

Seeing Yuga's shocked expression, Gardenia leaned in and whispered, "Joyna is telling the truth. She's nearly forty, but she has aged gracefully."

Yuga sighed, appreciating the importance of proper skincare and maintenance. He reluctantly called her "Auntie."

"Since you've helped me so significantly this time, you can make a request, as long as it's not too outrageous. I'll do my best to assist you," Joyna offered Yuga.

"That's wonderful! I'd like a promise from Joyna," Gardenia said, enviously.

Joyna playfully slapped her head and said, "Haven't I given you enough benefits? How much more advantage do you want to take of me?"

Upon this, Gardenia wisely kept quiet.

Yuga pondered for a while, unable to decide where to place his request. After all, this was an opportunity granted by a Champion-level Trainer, and it wasn't something to be taken lightly.

"Have you made up your mind?" Joyna asked.

Prompted by Joyna, Yuga gritted his teeth and said, "I have a Audino at home, would you be willing to help me train it?"

"Train an Audino?" Joyna didn't expect Yuga to make such a request.

"Yes, I run a Day Care at home, and I'd like you to teach my Audino how to be a competent assistant Pokémon. Strength isn't crucial, but I hope you can impart some knowledge to it," Yuga explained.

Joyna lowered her head and thought for a moment, considering that this request wasn't unreasonable. She nodded and agreed.

"Thank you very much," Yuga said happily.

Joyna instructed, "You can hand over Audino to Gardenia later, and she'll pass it on to me. I'll help it become an outstanding assistant Pokémon."

Afterward, Joyna had to leave due to other obligations.

Before leaving, Joyna looked at the island, devastated by the recent events, and felt a deep sense of sorrow. Unfortunately, she didn't have a better solution at the moment.

Luckily, when Joyna arrived, her ship wasn't damaged. Otherwise, with Latias injured, she wouldn't have known how to leave the island.

Watching Joyna's departing figure, Yuga asked Gardenia, "How could Latias, with such immense power, go berserk like that?"

"Ah, blame it on those international fugitives!" Gardenia sighed.

It turned out that Joyna and Gardenia were working together in the vicinity to assist the International Police in capturing fugitives. However, these fugitives were no ordinary individuals; they had used some advanced technology to subdue Latias and injected it with an unknown substance.

This unknown substance had driven Latias to madness, making it unrecognizable even to its Trainer. The International Police had no choice but to continue their pursuit of the fugitives while Gardenia and Joyna stayed behind to deal with Latias.

"Since you were on the mission together, why didn't you leave with Auntie Na?" Yuga asked, puzzled.

"The mission was a failure, and the pursuit has been fully handed over to the International Police. It's no longer our concern," Gardenia casually explained.

"Wouldn't there be consequences for failing the mission?" Yuga inquired with curiosity.

Gardenia pondered for a moment and replied, "There won't be punishments, but it might affect our performance records."

Hearing this, Yuga was relieved and said with a smile, "That's great, then! Can you please pay me my fee? I was even thinking, if you had to face consequences, I'd let it slide!"

"What? You want a fee too?" Gardenia exclaimed. "Didn't Auntie Na already give you something?"

"Auntie is Auntie, and you are you. How can you mix the two? Besides, you invited me here!" Yuga retorted indignantly. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have ended up in such a dangerous situation!"

"Alright, alright, I'll give it to you, but I haven't decided yet. I'll give it to you once I've figured it out," Gardenia said with a hint of annoyance. "Honestly, you don't know how to cut some slack for a young girl!"

After saying this, Gardenia released a Skarmory and flew away.

"Hmph!" Yuga watched Gardenia's departing figure and muttered, "You're so much older than me, yet you can't cut some slack for your younger brother! And you promised to compensate me!"